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Isaac Ratcliffe

Blues Injury Notes: Kyrou, Faulk, Kapanen, Ratcliffe, Burns

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Speaking with head coach Craig Berube of the St. Louis Blues today, Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that two of the most important players on the Blues roster, defenseman Justin Faulk, and forward Jordan Kyrou are both “fine” and should be back with the team relatively soon.

Both players are dealing with lower-body injuries, likely sustained in their most recent preseason matchups. In Faulk, he played in the team’s winning effort against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, playing a little over 16 minutes, failing to land on the scoresheet. Kyrou, on the other hand, has not played since the team’s split-squad matchup against the Arizona Coyotes on September 23rd, where he would play in almost 18 minutes of that game, scoring one goal and one assist.

It is unknown whether or not either player will play in the team’s upcoming matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks tomorrow night, or this weekend’s game against the Dallas Stars. Nevertheless, it appears that both are dealing with minor injuries and should be available for either of those two games.

Other Blues injury notes:

  • In the same report, DeFranks mentions that Blues’ forward Kasperi Kapanen is dealing with an upper-body injury, and should be able to return to practice tomorrow. Much like the status of Faulk and Kyrou, it is unknown whether or not Kapanen will play in the organization’s upcoming games this week, but should be ready to factor in if necessary. Kapanen has only played one game this preseason, playing just over 18 minutes of the team’s win against Arizona, registering zero points.
  • For some longer-term injury notes, St. Louis forward Isaac Ratcliffe is confirmed out at the moment, with no timetable for his return. Factoring into Tuesday’s game against the Blue Jackets, Ratcliffe tallied a goal in 13 minutes of ice time, earning the third star of the game. On the bubble of the Blues’ roster heading into this season, for his own personal benefit, Ratcliffe can not afford to miss too much time if he hopes to crack the regular season lineup.
  • St. Louis’ third-round selection of the 2023 NHL Draft, Quinton Burns, has been unable to return to practice following a lower-body injury sustained in the game against the Coyotes. In all likelihood, even without the injury, the young defenseman would have been returned to his OHL team, the Kingston Frontenacs, for the 2023-24 season. In his game against Arizona, Burns accrued 16 minutes of ice time, earning 2 PIMs and one registered hit.

St. Louis Blues Sign Isaac Ratcliffe To PTO

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The St. Louis Blues have announced the signing of forward Isaac Ratcliffe to a professional tryout agreement for the preseason. Bally Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland reports that there “could still be another” PTO signing coming for the team as they prepare for training camp.

In July, the AHL’s Chicago Wolves announced they’d signed Ratcliffe to an AHL contract for the 2023-24 season. Ratcliffe’s first priority will now be to make the Blues’ roster out of camp and earn a spot in the NHL, though AHL Chicago could very well end up his 2023-24 team should he fall short in that pursuit.

In Ratcliffe, the Blues are rolling the dice on a former highly-drafted prospect whose professional career has not to this point lined up with many scout’s projections.

Way back when he was a prospect for the 2017 draft, many scouts were intrigued by Ratcliffe’s imposing six-foot-six frame and coveted combination of size and goal-scoring ability.

He was ranked 15th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and was ultimately drafted near the top of the second round by the Philadelphia Flyers, 35th overall. Although Ratcliffe had slipped out of the first round, the Flyers ended up trading their own second-round pick, a third-rounder, and a fourth-rounder in order to move up nine spots in the draft order to be able to select Ratcliffe, highlighting just how highly Ratcliffe was viewed by some NHL evaluators.

Ratcliffe then proceeded to set the OHL on fire, scoring 41 goals the season after he was drafted and 50 goals in his final regular season of major junior hockey. Ratcliffe also added 30 points in 24 playoff games that year, partnering with Nick Suzuki to win the Guelph Storm an OHL title. At that point, there was a widespread belief that Ratcliffe had a chance to become an important part of the Flyers’ future forward corps, and he was ranked as the team’s fifth-best prospect by The Athletic’s Corey Pronman. (subscription link)

Pronman wrote at the time that “the pace [of the professional game] will be a big test” for Ratcliffe, noting that Ratcliffe’s “quickness is an issue.” That proved to be something of an understatement, as Ratcliffe struggled immensely to adjust to the faster pace of AHL hockey. While he could leverage his size and physicality to overpower his peers in junior hockey, the seasoned pros that populate the AHL proved far more difficult to outmuscle.

At the end of his rookie season as a pro player, Ratcliffe had collected six goals and 15 points in 53 games. His spot in the Flyers’ plans looked to be on increasingly thin ice, and after the COVID-19 pandemic wiped away much of the 2020-21 AHL season, Ratcliffe had the 2021-22 campaign as his best shot to prove to Philadelphia that he was still a legitimate NHL prospect.

He certainly played better, scoring 11 goals and 28 points in 59 games, and even earned his first NHL call-up, ultimately skating in 10 games in Philadelphia. But he still looked to be a step behind the pace of the pro game, and after injuries and inconsistency conspired to make the start of his 2022-23 season a real struggle, he was dealt to the Nashville Predators at the 2023 trade deadline.

Ratcliffe put together a solid stretch of games for the Predators’ AHL affiliate but ultimately was not issued a qualifying offer by the franchise, leading to his signing with the Wolves and this PTO with the Blues. The Blues have a few young wingers they’d like to see take real steps forward in their development and convincingly snatch regular roles in head coach Craig Berube’s lineup.

While players such as Oskar Sundqvist and Samuel Blais are locks for the Blues’ NHL roster, Ratcliffe will compete in camp against less established names such as top prospect Jake Neighbours, big Alexey Toropchenko, and veteran Mackenzie MacEachern. 

With this PTO, Ratcliffe will have the chance to join the Blues for training camp and the preseason with the hope of pushing those players for an NHL job. While it’s ultimately unlikely that the Blues elect to sign and roster Ratcliffe over someone like Neighbours, Toropchenko, or MacEachern, he’ll have the chance to potentially showcase his talents to other clubs in preseason games as well.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Nashville Predators Reassign Kevin Gravel

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The Nashville Predators have loaned Kevin Gravel back to the AHL after he cleared waivers on the weekend. He’ll be joined there by newcomer Isaac Ratcliffe, who was also assigned to the Milwaukee Admirals after being acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers last night.

Gravel, 30, has played in 14 games for the Predators this season, most recently suiting up last night for all of 12 shifts. The coaching staff has never shown much trust in the rangy defender, but he still represents some valuable depth as a player with over 120 games of NHL experience.

With the Predators returning home for a game tomorrow night and Cal Foote coming in to give the team another option on defense, Gravel—who was up under emergency conditions—was no longer needed. Foote’s arrival gave them eight defensemen, though that may not last long, given the rumors swirling around Dante Fabbro and Mattias Ekholm.

If Nashville does move multiple defensemen before Friday’s deadline, Gravel will likely be right back up to help fill in down the stretch. The veteran is in the first season of a two-year deal he signed last summer.

Nashville Predators Acquire Isaac Ratcliffe

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The Nashville Predators aren’t just selling at the deadline. Last night they made a smaller deal to acquire Isaac Ratcliffe from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for future considerations. The move gives the former top prospect a new home, and perhaps a fresh start as he continues to struggle at the professional level.

Selected 35th overall in 2017, Ratcliffe was a force to be reckoned with for the Guelph Storm of the OHL. The 6’6″ winger could lean on smaller junior players and bully his way to the net, resulting in massive point totals and sky-high expectations. In his final year with Guelph he scored 50 goals in 65 regular season games, while adding 105 penalty minutes. He seemed like the perfect Flyers prospect.

Unfortunately, that performance never carried over to the AHL. Ratcliffe scored just 15 points as a rookie in 2019-20, and was limited by injuries the following year. His best performance so far was in 2021-22 when he had 11 goals and 28 points for Lehigh Valley, while also making his NHL debut. Through 10 games with the Flyers, he had four points—not bad for a young player still finding his way, and encouraging enough to earn a new one-year deal with the club.

This year has been a disaster though, with just two goals and four points in 26 minor league contests. Given his age and performance so far, Ratcliffe was a real candidate to go unqualified in the offseason. He’ll get a chance to catch on in Nashville before that happens, though his future as an NHL player is still completely unclear.

Waivers: 09/30/22

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After waivers opened yesterday, quite a few players have ended up on the wire today. Teams keep making cuts to their rosters, and any veteran player needs to clear before being assigned to the minor leagues. Here are the names on waivers today.

Dallas Stars 

Riley Barber
Ben Gleason
Tanner Kero
Jerad Rosburg
Joseph Cecconi
Rhett Gardner

Detroit Red Wings

Chase Pearson

Florida Panthers

Connor Bunnaman

New York Rangers

Andy Welinski
Tim Gettinger

Philadelphia Flyers

Isaac Ratcliffe
Linus Sandin

San Jose Sharks

C.J. Suess
Andrew Agozzino

Tampa Bay Lightning

Daniel Walcott
Darren Raddysh
Maxime Lagace
Trevor Carrick

Washington Capitals

Michael Sgarbossa
Riley Sutter
Mike Vecchione
Hunter Shepard

Philadelphia Flyers Extend Isaac Ratcliffe

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The Philadelphia Flyers have gotten some business done today, finalizing an extension with one of their restricted free agents: Isaac Ratcliffe. Per a team announcement, Ratcliffe has signed a one-year, two-way contract carrying a $813K cap hit.

Ratcliffe, 23, spent most of last season with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and got ten games in with the main Flyers squad. Ratcliffe had his most productive professional season yet, scoring 11 goals and 28 points in 59 AHL games, a total that ranked fourth among Phantoms forwards. The six-foot-six, 200-pound winger is a former top prospect who was drafted 35th overall at the 2017 draft.

Ratcliffe was drafted so high thanks in part to his prolific scoring numbers in junior hockey. In his draft year, Ratcliffe scored 28 goals and 54 points, and followed that season up with a successful final year in the OHL, scoring 50 goals and 82 points. Ratcliffe has struggled to translate his goal-scoring prowess from juniors to the pro ranks, and his issues as a skater have largely been to blame.

Per The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor, Ratcliffe will be in a position to contend for a fourth-line role on the Flyers in training camp, and this one-year extension indicates that 2022-23 will be a do-or-die year for Ratcliffe and his future as a developmental project in the Flyers organization.

In his media availability following free agency, Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher alluded to 2022-23 being an “important” year for many of the team’s young players to prove they still had NHL potential, and it’s likely that Ratcliffe is one of those young players who needs a strong season to remain in the organization’s long-term plans.

East Notes: Bratt, Olofsson, Ratcliffe, Rangers

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Devils winger Jesper Bratt is one of eight remaining restricted free agents around the league.  GM Tom Fitzgerald spoke with reporters today; Catherine Bogart of New Jersey’s team website provided Fitzgerald’s update on the status of negotiations with the 22-year-old:

Jesper’s agent and I have been in constant communication.  We’re trying to find a common ground on their thoughts on how a deal should be structured versus how we think a deal should be structured. I see a lot of parallels with Jesper’s situation with the Mackenzie Blackwood situation, and you know the contract negotiations.

Blackwood recently inked a three-year, $8.4MM deal coming off of his entry-level contract, the same situation that Bratt finds himself in.  He has had between 32 and 36 points in each of his three NHL seasons and had a career-high 16 tallies in 2019-20.  Even if they can come to terms in the next day or two, it’s unlikely that the Devils will have Bratt in the lineup on opening night as he will have to get his work visa, fly over from Sweden, and go through mandatory quarantine protocols before being cleared to suit up.

More from the East Division:

  • Sabres winger Victor Olofsson left practice early after crashing into the net, relays NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). While Olofsson was able to briefly return, he was not on the ice for their final session of the day.  He is currently being evaluated, per head coach Ralph Krueger.
  • Included in the Flyers’ announcement of their training camp roster was a note that winger Isaac Ratcliffe will be out for at least four weeks after sustaining a fractured rib in training. The 21-year-old made his pro debut last season, notching six goals and nine assists in 53 games with Lehigh Valley of the AHL.
  • The Rangers announced (Twitter link) that centers Mika Zibanejad and Justin Richards plus goaltender Keith Kinkaid are all listed as day-to-day and will not be available when on-ice workouts begin early next week. No further explanations were given for their absences.  Meanwhile, GM Jeff Gorton confirmed that the team will not recall winger Vitali Kravtsov from his loan to Chelyabinsk of the KHL until that season is complete, relays Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today (via Twitter).  The 21-year-old has a dozen goals and five assists in 34 games so far this season.

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